


Fly

by PensAndPotions



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Destiel - Freeform, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 04:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4863254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PensAndPotions/pseuds/PensAndPotions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean hated flying.</p>
<p>That is, until a beautiful stranger distracts him from his terror.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fly

**Author's Note:**

> • A version of this drabble is on Wattpad. There are no other authorised versions of this story.  
> • I know canonically Cas is the 'angel of Thursday', but I used the Latin roots in this story as a plot device.
> 
> Please kudos and comment!

After the air-hostess lady told Dean what seat he was supposed to sit in (as if he couldn't read the friggin ticket himself!) he made his way down the narrow aisle, bumping everyone with his bag as he went. After seats L, he stopped apologising for it.

Dean's seat was at the back of the plane, in row R. There was only two seats in this row, and Dean hoped that no one was going to sit next to him. Dean hated having the window seat. He always felt like he was forced to look out and acknowledge just how far he was off the ground.

After stowing his bag in the overhead locker, Dean took the window seat nonetheless, and waited for the cockpit door to close. Dean figured the sooner they got in the air, the sooner they'd touch down. 

Dean was waiting for 5, 10, 15 minutes before an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We're experiencing a few technical difficulties. Please expect a 30 minute delay. We apologise sincerely. Enjoy your flight."

Technical difficulties? Shit. Hopefully that doesn't mean that one of the engines will fall off mid-flight like in that movie. 

Dean pulled out his cellphone and texted Sam to let him know.  
'Hey Sammy, might be a little late, captain says there's technical difficulties'

Sam texted back quite quickly.  
'That's ok  
P.S. don't worry about the flight. You'll be fine'

Dean chuckled. It's like that kid could read his thoughts.

Dean looked up from his phone to see the last person on the plane struggling down the aisle. He was carrying a huge backpack and kept bumping people with it. The more people he hurt, the more flustered he became, and the more crimson flooded to his cheeks.

Even though he was cute (No, not cute. Brazen. No! Alright. He was alright looking.),Dean hoped to God that the seat next to him was not his. No such luck. The man kept walking until he reached Dean's row, and put his luggage in the overhead compartment, before sitting down next to Dean.

Shit.

Dean looked out the window at the rain splattered tarmac. It was like the sky was crying for him.

He turned to face the guy who had just sat down next to him.

Crap, he's even hotter up close.

The man noticed Dean was staring before Dean could turn away or pretend he was looking at someone else, but instead of getting the "What're you looking at?" like Dean expected, the man simply said, "Hello."

"Hey," Dean replied, unsure.

Finally, the plane was ready and cleared for landing.  
"Cabin crew, prepare the cabin for take-off," came the muffled instruction from above.

Noting the flashing seatbelt sign overhead, Dean snapped his seatbelt into place, tightening the strap a little too much. 

As the plane started to move, Dean took a deep breath. 

Ok, Dean, don't freak out. If you creep this guy next to you out I will never forgive you. 

Dean gripped the armrests with both hands, his knuckles turning white.

Calm down. It's just like being in a car. A big one. That drives in the sky. 50,000 feet up.

This wasn't helping his situation at all. Dean closed his eyes. As he heard the roar of the engines getting louder, he cursed his little brother silently for going to college several states over. 

As the plane rushed down the runway and leapt into the sky, Dean's eyes remained squeezed shut. He tried to imagine that he was teaching Sam how to drive on the highway again, but that was equally as terrifying. Dean just prayed for it to be over soon.

The man next to him tapped him on the shoulder. Dean's eyes met the man's sky blue ones, making Dean blush slightly.

Shit!

"You'll be fine. This flight's a short one." Said the man.

"Mhm," Dean replied, not breaking his gaze.

Dean looked forward once again, and closed his eyes, not so tightly this time, even though his hands were still gripping the armrests for dear life.

"You should loosen your grip." The man said. He grabbed Dean's right hand, the one that was on his side, and eased it off the rest. Dean allowed him to do so. The man then took his hand, and interlaced their fingers.

"You'll be okay." Said the man.

I'm dead. I'm so dead. The plane's crashed, and I've died and gone to heaven.

Dean gave the man's hand a reassuring squeeze, which probably just felt like a nervous spasm. The man let go of Dean, and had the decency to not immediately wipe the nervous sweat from Dean's clammy hand on his trench coat.

"My name is Castiel." Said the man.

"Dean." Replied Dean.

"Nice to meet you, Dean." Said Castiel.

"Yeah, ditto, Cas - Do you mind if I call you Cas?"

Castiel smiled, and shook his head. "Cas is fine."

Taking the distraction with open arms, Dean attempted to continue the conversation.

"So... Castiel. That's quite a name."

"Yes. My family is very religious." Castiel explained.

"So... what, is Castiel like, an angel name or something?" Dean was sure it hadn't appeared in the Bible, even though he'd only heard of the stories through others. He'd never cracked the book in his life, and had no intention to.

"Something like that," replied Castiel. "Most of my siblings' names end in the suffix '-iel', which is Latin for 'of or from God'."

"Ah. Kinda makes sense." Said Dean. 

Castiel chuckled.

"So, what does the first part of your name mean? The 'Cas' part?" Dean asked.

"Uh... 'to fall', actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So your name is the literal Latin translation for 'to fall from God'."

"Yes."

"Huh," Dean went silent for a second, contemplating. "Did your parents think that one through?"

Castiel laughed; a real laugh this time. "I guess not. But, then again, maybe they were just seeing the future."

Dean frowned. "How do you mean?"

Castiel smiled sadly. "I rebelled."

"Ah." Dean knew what that meant. His brother Sam had done the exact same thing.

"That's why I'm here, actually." Castiel continued. "I'm moving in with my brother, Gabriel."

Dean nodded. Cas looked at him as if to say 'what about you?'.

"Uh... My little brother Samm- Sam, is graduating from Stanford, so I'm going up to visit him." Dean explained.

Castiel smiled. "That's very nice of you, Dean. Facing your fears so you can see your brother graduate."

A sudden feeling of pride in himself washed over Dean. For the first time in a long while, Dean actually felt happy with a decision he had made himself.

"What about your parents?" Asked Castiel innocently. "Are they going to the graduation as well?"

Dean looked down at his feet. "No."

At this point, Castiel knew that he had said the wrong thing. "I- I'm sorry, Dean. I didn't mean- "

"No, Cas, it's fine." Dean looked at the shorter man in reassurance. "My mom, uh... My mom passed away when I was four."

Castiel's eyes widened. He was supposed to be distracting Dean from the flight in a positive way, not making him relive his mother's death.

Noting Castiel's horrified expression, Dean added, "It's okay. It was a long time ago. Sammy was too young to remember her anyway." 

As if that was the only thing that could possibly matter.

"What about your father?" Cas asked, hoping for a simple 'he couldn't make it' or something else. ANYTHING else.

Dean laughed, in a short, unamused huff.

"Sam and dad don't really get on too well." Said Dean simply. Dean turned away from Castiel to face the plane window, but quickly turned back when he saw how close the clouds outside were.

Castiel didn't know how to react to this. It wasn't exactly a secret that he was socially inept. On top of this, he couldn't talk to anyone male and attractive, and, of course, knowing Castiel's luck, Dean was both. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Castiel asked, hoping that that was the right thing to say.

Dean huffed half-amusedly again. Castiel thought he'd stuffed up, until Dean replied, "If you want to."

Castiel nodded. Anything to keep this guy talking.

"Dad's a mechanic. He owns a business, the family business, and me and Sammy were both supposed to own it after dad retires. He didn't have too much of an issue with me, I hated school. I went right in.

"Sammy... He was a little different. He was always good at school; he got good grades and all that sorta stuff. He ended up getting into college! Imagine... A Winchester at Stanford..."

Dean smiled dreamily.

"I was so happy for my baby brother. I wish I could say the same about dad, though."

"How do you mean?" Castiel asked.

"When Sam told him, dad flipped. He basically told Sammy that if he left for California then he shouldn't even think about coming back." Dean chuckled darkly. "I thought he was kidding. But, as it turns out..." Dean trailed off.

"Dad and Sam haven't talked in five years almost. And this fight is actually the reason why I'm on this plane right now."

Cas frowned. "How do you mean?"

"Dad found out somehow that I was going to the graduation, and that I was gonna drive up from Kansas. So he took my car out and smashed it up real bad."

"Oh my god." Castiel gasped. Who even was this guy? Trying to keep his sons from even seeing each other?

"Yeah, well, he didn't count on me wanting to go this badly. I told him to shove his ideals up his ass and I booked a plane ticket."

Castiel's eyes widened. "But won't he be mad when you get back? What if he pushes you away like he did Sam?"

Dean shrugged nonchalantly. "He needs me in the shop."

Castiel looked forward. Damn... 

"What about you? How come you're moving in with your brother?" Asked Dean.

Castiel smiled. "Problems with my dad as well."

"Shit." Said Dean.

Castiel laughed a little, and continued, "He's hasn't been around much. He was there for a few of my older siblings while they were growing up, but ever since Lucifer up and left, he kinda just... Gave up."

Dean nodded. He knew what it was like to have a father who only cared a certain amount.

"How many siblings do you have?" Asked Dean.

He was shocked when Castiel started to count on his fingers.

"Technically eight, although there's twelve of us including me."

"Jesus." Dean remembered it getting hectic when their Dad's friend Ellen came over with her daughter Jo, and there was only three kids.

"There's Michael, he's the oldest; then Lucifer; then Gabriel; then Ezekiel; then the adopted twins Rafael and Uriel." Castiel said, ticking them off on his fingers as he went, "Then there's me; then the second set of twins, Anna and Hannah; then there's Gadreel, and the youngest is Samandriel." Finished Castiel. "Wait, who am I missing? Oh yeah, Metatron."

Castiel rolled his eyes. "He's the oldest, technically, but we don't really count him. He's our cousin whose parents kicked him out about a million years ago. He's way older than me and still doesn't have a job. All he does is sit in his room and write all day. We all hate him but we don't have the heart to kick him out, since he's family."

Dean just laughed, "That reminds me of something someone told me once."

"What's that?" Castiel questioned.

"Family doesn't end with blood."

Castiel looked confused. "I'm not sure I follow."

"It means, primarily, that even if someone isn't directly related to you, by blood or whatever, you can still care about them as if they're family. But it also works the other way. If a blood relation doesn't feel like family to you, then they're not. Family isn't something you're born, it's something you become."

Castiel nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Dean." He said genuinely.

Suddenly, the speakers overhead crackled to life, startling both men.

"Cabin crew, prepare aircraft for landing."

"Are we there already?" Dean thought out loud.

"Guess so." Said Castiel. "See? That wasn't too bad, was it?"

"No," Dean admitted, "But you made it a hell of a lot easier. Thank you."

The blush in Castiel's cheeks was unmistakable. "It was no trouble."

During the decent, Castiel allowed Dean to grip his hand for stability. Dean was fine, and felt comfortable thanks to Castiel's touch, until the plane made contact with the ground. Although Dean would never have admitted it to anyone, the roar of the plane's tyres on the asphalt of the Tarmac set Dean's teeth on edge. He squeezed Castiel's hand so hard that he thought he was going to be bruised. But Castiel didn't care. All that mattered right now was that this man sitting next to him, practically a complete stranger, felt comfortable and relaxed.

***  
As Dean and Castiel exited the aircraft, they stayed together, talking about various sorts of things.

After Dean had picked up his bag from the carousel and it was time to say goodbye, neither of them wanted to leave.

"Thanks so much, Cas. For everything." Dean said shyly.

Castiel smiled bashfully and said, "You're very welcome."

They both stood there staring at each other for a long while, unsure of what to do.

"Hey, uh... Cas," Dean said, scratching the back of his neck nervously, "Can I... Can I get your number?"

"Of course, Dean." Replied Castiel.

Dean handed Castiel his phone, and Castiel did the same. 

After adding their numbers, Castiel said, "My brother's outside."

"Yeah... Mine too." Said Dean, without taking his eyes off Castiel.

***

After putting his bags in the trunk, Dean slipped into the passenger side of Sam's Prius.

"Who was that you were talking to in the airport?" Asked Sam.

Dean just smiled knowingly.


End file.
